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Turning their attention towards Graham Potter’s first summer transfer window in charge, West Ham United are now reportedly plotting a move to sign a 19-goal striker ahead of Chelsea.

West Ham transfer news

Whilst the Hammers did welcome Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion during the January transfer window, it remains to be seen whether the young forward will complete a permanent move when the summer transfer window arrives.

Potentially leaving West Ham short on options and with an ageing Michail Antonio and Niklas Fullkrug to choose from, those at the London Stadium must turn towards the transfer market. It’s the type of signing which could transform Potter’s side and ensure that victories such as last weekend’s over Arsenal are no longer great upsets, but a growing trend.

After missing out on Jhon Duran last summer, West Ham cannot afford to miss out on a star striker for the second summer on the bounce, which would set Potter up for the same failure that Julen Lopetegui endured. With one name beginning to dominate the headlines though, the Hammers could yet make their move.

According to Caught Offside, West Ham are now plotting a summer swoop to sign Samu Omorodion from Porto, who reportedly value their forward at a hefty €50m (£42m).

Related £35,000-p/w West Ham star steps up recovery as fresh return date now eyed

He’s missed the last two games…

Posts ByTom Cunningham Feb 25, 2025

West Ham aren’t the only side interested either, with both Chelsea and Aston Villa threatening to jump ahead of those at the London Stadium in pursuit of the talented 20-year-old.

Chelsea, of course, missed out on Samu’s signature last summer before he opted to swap Atletico Madrid for Porto at a bargain price of just £12.7m. Now, one year and plenty of goals later, the Portuguese side could be set to make instant profit.

"Complete" Samu would transform West Ham

West Ham showed exactly what they’re capable of against Arsenal last time out, but they still lack crucial consistency if it’s not Jarrod Bowen who steps up. Without Antonio this season, they’ve been forced to fall back on Danny Ings and Fullkrug, who has enudred injury issues of his own along the way towards reaching transfer flop status.

When Antonio returns, meanwhile, there’s no telling whether he’ll reach previous levels after suffering such a disastrous injury in a shock car crash earlier this season. At 34 years old too, the forward is unlikely to have many years left in the tank – making West Ham’s need for a striker even more urgent in an issue that Omorodion would instantly solve.

The Porto star has stolen headline after headline in Portugal this season, with 19 goals in 31 games to his name in all competitions. Dubbed a “complete” striker by football talent scout Jacek Kulig as a result, Samu is destined for greatness.

Likely igniting a Premier League battle when the summer arrives, there’s no doubt that Omorodion will be one to watch.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed outbound Trent Alexander-Arnold will not start against Arsenal, with Conor Bradley to take his place.

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Alexander-Arnold to leave LiverpoolDropped for Arsenal clashBradley preparing to fill gap next seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Alexander-Arnold announced his departure from Liverpool last week as he nears a move to Real Madrid as a free agent. With the Reds having clinched their Premier League title a fortnight ago, their clash against second-placed Arsenal does not mean a lot, and Slot has revealed that Alexander-Arnold will not be in the starting line-up.

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It is still uncertain whether Liverpool and Slot plan to sign a new right-back to cover the departure of Alexander-Arnold. However, the Dutch coach has now indicated that Bradley will be the main option heading into next season.

Getty Images SportWHAT SLOT SAID

Speaking to the media on Friday, Slot said: "Conor will start on Sunday because he needs more games under his belt to prepare for next season. Let's not compare him with Trent, they are two different types of players.

"For me he is already there ahead of development than being at Chelsea for the first time. Unfortunately, he hasn't been fit all season but to become a good player you have to be fit all season but we have a lot of confidence in him as a very good full-back for Liverpool."

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WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

Arsenal will give Liverpool a guard of honour at Anfield on Sunday having failed to chase down the Reds in a one-sided Premier League title race.

علق آرني سلوت، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ليفربول على احتمالية تتويج محمد صلاح بالكرة الذهبية هذا الموسم بعد الأداء الكبير الذي قدمه مع الريدز خاصةً على المستوى الفردي.

وتوج محمد صلاح ببطولة الدوري الإنجليزي للمرة الثانية مع ليفربول، قدم خلاله واحدة من أفضل مستوياته الفردية طوال مسيرته الاحترافية.

اقرأ أيضًا | محمد صلاح: أريد حصد الثنائية والكرة الذهبية الموسم المقبل.. وكرة القدم في عصر راش مختلفة

ومن المقرر أن يواجه ليفربول نظيره كريستال بالاس مساء يوم الأحد المقبل في تمام الساعة السادسة مساءً، في إطار منافسات الجولة الـ 38 من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، على ملعب “آنفيلد”.

وفاز محمد صلاح بجائزة أفضل لاعب بالدوري الإنجليزي لموسم 2024/2025 المقدمة من رابطة النقاد الرياضيين للمرة الثالثة في تاريخه.

ويتصدر الملك المصري جدول ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز برصيد 28 هدفًا مع أيضًا صدارة الأكثر صناعة برصيد 18 هدفًا.

وقال سلوت في المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بالمباراة على احمالية تتويج صلاح بالكرة الذهبية:”لدي آمال كبيرة عليه، فقد قدم مواسم رائعة مع ليفربول، لكن هذا الموسم ربما يكون الأبرز من حيث الأرقام، وقد فزنا بالدوري، هذا يمنحه فرصة”.

وأكمل: “للأسف، ليس اللاعب الرائع الوحيد، ولكن إن وُجدت فرصة، فهي هذا الموسم، وإن لم تُتح له، فسيبذل جهدًا أكبر في الموسم المقبل”.

واسترسل: “هو لا يحتاج للتحسن على المستوى الفردي، لكن عقلية محمد المتميزة تجعله لا يشعر بالسعادة أبدًا، كما قلت، سيكون من المستحيل أن يتحسن على مستوى الأداء الفردي مع أنه يجب أبدًا اقول إن هناك شيئًا مستحيلًا بالنسبة له”.

وشدد: “لقد أثبت محمد صلاح قدرته الدائمة على رفع مستوى أدائه إلى مستويات أعلى، هذه أيضًا هي العقلية النخبوية التي يجب أن يتمتع بها اللاعب النجم، لا تشعر بالرضا أبدًا بما وصلت إليه، وهذه هي عقليته”.

واختتم: “بالنسبة للفريق يمكننا تقديم أداء أفضل قليلاً لأننا كنا ننافس على أربعة ألقاب، ولم نفز إلا بواحدة فقط، أصعبها في رأيي والأكبر، يمكن دائمًا مناقشة ذلك”.

Bayern Munich went crashing out of the Champions League despite Harry Kane and Eric Dier's best efforts in a 2-2 draw against Inter.

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• Kane and Dier both score against Inter
• German side lost 4-3 on aggregate
• Martinez & Pavard scored for Serie A team

• TELL ME MORE

  After a goalless first half, Kane broke the deadlock just seven minutes after the restart. Leon Goretzka brought the ball down outside the box and passed to the England striker, who took his time before picking out the bottom corner.

  Inter were level within six minutes when the German side failed to deal with a corner, allowing Lautaro Martinez to fire beyond Jonas Urbig. Inter's comeback was complete just three minutes later as Hakan Calhanoglu's corner found Benjamin Pavard to head into the net.

  Vincent Kompany's men were given a glimmer of hope when Leroy Sane picked up a poor clearance and sent an inviting ball towards the back post, where Eric Dier sent it looping over the line to make it 2-2.

  Thomas Muller looked capable of a spectacular finish as he diverted a header towards goal deep into stoppage time, but Yann Sommer stopped it as Inter booked their place in the semi-finals with a 4-3 aggregate win.

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• AFP
  

  THE MVP

  Bayern had a fighting chance until late on thanks to Dier. He overcame an uncertain first half to play a key role in the second, scoring the equaliser and making an important clearance, too.

• AFP
  

  THE BIG LOSER

  If only Kim Min-jae had put up more of a fight against Pavard for the header that saw Inter go ahead!

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• WHAT COMES NEXT?

  While Inter go on to meet Barcelona in the semi-finals, Bayern will continue their march to the Bundesliga title with a game against Heidenheim this weekend.

Bayern Munich are worried they will miss out on a financial boost as Tottenham will decide against signing Mathys Tel permanently.

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Tel joined Spurs on loan in winter windowHas struggled to make an impactTottenham not expected to take up purchase optionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Tel arrived at Tottenham at the end of the winter transfer window and was handed the No. 11 shirt. Tottenham have the option to sign Tel permanently for a fee of €50m (£43m)but do not look like taking it up as the striker is effectively fifth choice now in north London, according to . The striker is described as having been "anything but good" during his time with Spurs and the fear is he's turned into a flop.

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Tel has managed just two goals for Spurs this season. He's netted against Aston Villa in the FA Cup and Southampton in the Premier League but has struggled to impress for Ange Postecoglou's side. If Tottenham do not sign Tel it will be a blow for Bayern, as the club had reportedly been planning on using the funds to help reinvest in the squad which may subsequently affect their summer transfer plans.

DID YOU KNOW?

Tel was wanted by Tottenham's Europa League quarter-final opponents Eintracht Frankfurt last summer. Manager Dino Toppmoller told Sky Sport Germany: “Mathys was a topic during several transfer windows, of course because I know him and there’s simply a connection. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way we had hoped. I’m happy for him that he’s now found a club he’s chosen for himself. Let’s see how long he stays there – I believe it’s just a loan. We’ll see.”

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR TEL

Tel will come up against Frankfurt in the second leg of the Europa League tie on Thursday in Germany. Before then, Spurs face a trip to Molineux to take on Wolves on Sunday in the Premier League.

The Supreme Court is likely to hear on Thursday the BCCI’s plea requesting for several amendments to its constitution, which could roll back some of the most significant reforms that were recommended by RM Lodha Committee and approved by the court in 2018.The case will be heard by a three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.Thursday’s hearing will be the first time in more than two years that the Supreme Court will take up the BCCI’s petition, which was originally filed in December 2019. The board then filed a fresh application in April 2020, and last week it requested the court to hear the case urgently.Among the key reforms that the BCCI has asked the court to review are the mandatory cooling-off period for its office-bearers, modifying the disqualification criteria for holding office, giving unprecedented powers to the board secretary, and preventing the court from having a say if the BCCI wants to alter its constitution in the future. (Read more on the BCCI’s proposed amendments.)Related

• Fate of Ganguly, Shah in focus as Supreme Court begins hearing BCCI plea to amend constitution

• BCCI plans sweeping changes, Lodha reforms under threat

• Supreme Court approves new BCCI constitution

At present, the cooling-off period means that an office bearer who has held any post for two consecutive terms (six years) either at a state association or in the BCCI, or a combination of both, shall not be eligible to contest any further election without completing a cooling-off period of three years. During the cooling-off period, the person cannot serve in any capacity at both the BCCI or state level.In its 2018 judgement passing the new BCCI constitution, the Supreme Court had relaxed a couple of the original recommendations including the one concerning the cooling-off period. As per the Lodha Committee recommendation an office bearer – at BCCI or state association – would need to take a three-year break after serving one term of three years. However, the court changed that and allowed an office bearer to serve two consecutive terms (six years) separately at the state association or the board, or a combination of both, while retaining the maximum tenure of nine years.In October 2019, a new BCCI administration was elected with Sourav Ganguly as president, Jay Shah as secretary, Arun Dhumal as treasurer, and Jayesh George as joint secretary. Within two months of taking charge, the Ganguly administration moved the court contesting the cooling-off period: it wanted the cooling-off period to come into effect after the office bearer had been in a post for six consecutive years at one place – either a state association or the BCCI but not a combination of both.At present, all five BCCI office-bearers including vice-president Rajiv Shukla have finished six consecutive years in some office, having earlier served at their respective state associations before becoming BCCI office bearers.Ganguly was meant to start his cooling-off period after July 2020, having started as secretary at the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2014, following which he became the association’s president in 2015, and was re-elected in September 2019 before moving to the BCCI.As for Shah, he was elected joint secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) in 2014. The internal records of the GCA suggest Shah’s tenure started on September 8, 2013.In Shukla’s case, he is ineligible to continue as a BCCI office-bearer on the basis of him being a Member of Parliament – as per the board’s constitution a politician cannot serve as an office bearer.The challenge for the current Supreme Court bench, which also includes Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Hima Kohli, is to decide whether to change – and on what grounds – the 2018 judgement, which was passed by Justice Dr DY Chandrachud, one of the most senior judges in the court who was part of this case since 2016.While adding leniency to the COA’s original cooling-off recommendation, Justice Chandrachud had said that “allowing an individual to act as an office bearer for six years in continuation is a sufficiently long period for experience and knowledge gained to be deployed in the interest of the game without at the same time resulting in a monopoly of power.”The cooling-off period, Justice Chandrachud said, was necessary because it would be act as a “safe guard” against “vested personal interests”, as well ensure against the “concentration of power in a few hands” while encouraging more administrators to gain experience.”Cooling off must be accepted as a means to prevent a few individuals from regarding the administration of cricket as a personal turf. The game will be better off without cricketing oligopolies,” Justice Chandrachud had written in his judgement.And that is the basis of a counter filed against the BCCI petition this week by Subramaniam Swamy, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party that leads the Indian government. According to Bar and Bench, an Indian legal website, Swamy said the BCCI request was aimed at “negating and destroying” the cooling-off period, “resulting in a monopoly of power in the hand of few individuals,” and “destroying the quintessence” of the 2018 Supreme Court judgement.”

Newcastle United finished 2024 on strong footing, winning five games in a row to reenter the ascendency in the Premier League and set up a semi-final showdown with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.

However, Eddie Howe knows that he needs to make some signings this year. The current purple patch merely underscores the talent and potential within this Magpies squad, but it’s not without its weaknesses.

Namely, United are searching for more firepower to complement Alexander Isak up front – with right wing likely to be the first port of call.

Newcastle hoping to sign wingers

Newcastle are aware of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules and will now want to awaken the beast with any overzealousness this winter, but they will act if the right opportunity presents itself.

Right wingers are indeed being looked at, with Sky Sports reporting that Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Antoine Semenyo, the Bournemouth star, have been shortlisted.

However, another rogue shout could be Antony. Caught Offside report that the Manchester United winger is open to leaving this month and has been offered out to a number of clubs on loan, including Newcastle.

In December, Antony’s agent Junior Pedroso revealed that while his client views himself as a long-term part of Ruben Amorim’s United team, he’s open to a departure if all parties agree that it would be a beneficial move.

There’s no hiding from the fact that the £200k-per-week Antony has fallen heavily by the wayside at the Theatre of Dreams, but make no mistake, there’s a player in there, capable of hitting his stride in the Premier League.

Why Antony could succeed at Newcastle

Manchester United broke the bank when they paid £86m to sign Ajax talent Antony in 2022. It’s fair to say he’s endured a dismal run as a Red Devil. Correspondent Samuel Luckhurst has branded him a “dreadful” signing and the lion’s share of the fanbase would echo such claims.

However, the Brazil international is skilful and creative, endowed with the athletic properties that are required to pass through the rigours of the Premier League. Moreover, he posted 22 goal contributions across 33 matches during 2021/22, his final season in the Netherlands, with a dynamic and combative approach suggesting that he could yet rise to the fore in England.

Newcastle would showcase an astounding level of tactical brilliance if they were to resurrect the 24-year-old, but with Howe at the helm, it truly could be achieved.

Antony’s Man United career began brightly with three Premier League goals in a row and he is capable of moments of class, arcing powerful shots into the corner from range, bamboozling defenders with quick, tricky feet.

Consistency has been the wideman’s chief concern, but Howe has already demonstrated through the acquisition of Anthony Gordon, who flattered to deceive initially and wasn’t exactly prolific at Everton but is now coveted as one of the Premier League’s finest left-sided forwards, that he has the Midas touch.

Gordon forced his way out of Everton to sign for Newcastle in a £45m package in January 2023, having scored seven goals across 78 matches for the Toffees after graduating from their academy.

He was an up-and-coming star, fast and ferocious but lacking the kind of potency to convince scornful rivals that United had secured a coup. Not that that mattered.

But he didn’t exactly dispel such claims after his first six months on Tyneside, saving his first goal for the club until the final game of the 2022/23 Premier League season, in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Gordon’s first full term as a Toon talent emphatically changed the conversation around him, however, with the 24-year-old scoring 12 goals and adding 11 more assists across all competitions as he was awarded United’s Player of the Season award and earned an England call-up for Euro 2024.

His goal contributions were pleasing, but what attracted Howe in the first place was Gordon’s underlying data, maintaining a consistent ball-carrying threat while applying impressive defensive numbers. Indeed he ranked among the top 3% of positional peers in the Premier League for tackles won per 90, as per FBref, during his final year with Everton.

Moreover, the England star won 5.3 duels per top-flight fixture last year and averaged 1.6 tackles per game, as per Sofascore, making a telling comment on his effectiveness. Goals and assists are great, but he has skills that elevate the games of his teammates.

And therein lies Antony’s potential. The Brazilian is a player unto himself, so distinctive, if not always for the right reasons. But if he is to triumph in the Premier League, Newcastle might be the perfect stomping ground for him to achieve that feat.

He does have talent. As per FBref, Antony ranks among the top 6% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 14% for shot-creating actions, the top 11% for successful take-ons and the top 1% for tackles and interceptions per 90.

His natural defensive application offers shades of Gordon, while he’s progressive on the ball and an underrated playmaker too. The Guardian’s Barney Ronay described him as a “maverick” in 2024, though this was something of a double-edged comment.

It simply hasn’t worked for the Brazilian at Old Trafford, but that’s not to say that he can’t yet forge a successful Premier League career. Howe’s Newcastle system promotes attacking improvements – just look at Jacob Murphy and, once upon a time, Miguel Almiron.

Let’s not forget: The Times reported a few months ago that Antony had been eyed by Liverpool in the overtures to his Manchester transfer. Jurgen Klopp was leading the charge. We’re going to go out on a limb and say that Antony would have hit higher levels had he moved to Anfield.

Gordon arrived at St. James’ Park with clear potential but a lack of focus. Howe changed that. He can do the same again with Antony.

Now we wait. We wait until Newcastle show their hand in the January transfer window. Bringing Antony to the fold would no doubt be met with disbelief from many fans, but there was a reason why he arrived at Man United with such high stock, and hopefully now the positives circling a prospective Newcastle transfer are made more clear.

Related Murphy upgrade: Newcastle to battle Liverpool for £50m Mbeumo alternative

Newcastle are ready to complete some signings this year.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Jan 3, 2025

Keacy Carty makes history as the first St Maarten player to be selected for West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2022New white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran will be without Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis during West Indies’ ODI tours of Netherlands and Pakistan starting May 31. Instead, Jayden Seales, Shermon Lewis and specialist batter Keacy Carty have been included as new faces in the 15-member squad that will play the six ODIs that are part of the ODI Super League championship.While Hetmyer has been given a break so he can be home for the birth of his first child, a statement from Cricket West Indies said Evin Lewis was not considered since he failed to meet CWI’s fitness criteria. Holder has been rested, with workload management cited as the key reason. All three are part of the ongoing IPL season even though Hetmyer recently left the tournament bubble to be with his family.Fast bowlers Seales and Shermon Lewis have been selected for ODIs for the first time. The other new face, Carty, is a 25-year-old batter who averages 25.05 in List A cricket after 23 games. In March, he scored 57 and 49 against the England Test squad in a warm-up game representing a CWI President’s XI. His selection also makes history as he is the first player from St. Maarten to have received a West Indies call up.Tour details

In Netherlands: May 31, June 2 and 4 – VRA Stadium, Amstelveen
In Pakistan: June 8, 10 and 12 – Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi

“We were impressed with Carty and the way he goes about his innings, we saw several glimpses of his ability the way he played against England earlier this year for the CWI President’s XI,” lead selector Desmond Haynes said in the release. “We hope that giving him this opportunity he will recognize the importance of representing West Indies. We think he is a young batsman with great promise, and this is the kind of tour he can show he fits in.”We also have a very good group of young fast bowlers who have demonstrated their ability and we want to use these two tours to give them opportunities in the 50-over format. We have a week in The Netherlands and another week in Pakistan and this should provide them with quality opposition to bowl against as we build towards the Cricket World Cup in 2023. Phillip has been around for some time, and we know what he can offer, Seales has been very good in Test cricket and Lewis is making a return to the West Indies set-up following some good performances.”West Indies are currently not among the spots for direct qualification into the ODI World Cup in India next year. They are tenth on the Super League points table, having lost each of their three most recent ODI series, including an unexpected 2-1 defeat to Ireland at home.After this tour, West Indies will have only three remaining games in the Super League – a postponed home series against New Zealand. If they fail to achieve direct qualification, they will have to enter the competition via a qualifier tournament, a route the side used to reach the 2019 World Cup in England.Full squad: Nicholas Pooran (capt), Shai Hope (vice-capt), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Before the weekend’s disappointing draw away to Fulham, Arsenal were riding high courtesy of a 2-0 home win against fierce rivals Manchester United.

However, it wasn’t just the fixture that made Wednesday night’s clash a special one; it was also the fact that it was the 500th competitive men’s game at the Emirates Stadium.

It’s a stadium that has seen some special players in the 18 years since it was completed, but the last couple of years have been the first time it’s hosted a side that are bonafide title challengers and good enough to go all the way in Europe.

Therefore, while plenty of brilliant signings have been made since 2006, it’s hard to look past this current crop of players as the best of the Emirates era, particularly Martin Odegaard.

That said, he may not hold the crown for being one of Arsenal’s best deals of recent years for too much longer. More on that player in just a moment…

Odegaard's Arsenal career

Arsenal initially signed Odegaard on a six-month loan deal from Real Madrid in January 2021, and while he certainly wasn’t poor in that spell, his tally of two goals and two assists in 20 appearances wasn’t exactly earth-shattering.

However, Arteta and Edu Gaspar had a vision of the team with the Norwegian at the centre and opted to pay Los Blancos £30m for his services that summer, and what a game-changing decision that has since turned out to be.

The Drammen-born magician has become absolutely essential to how the Gunners play and his leadership abilities saw him named club captain in 2022 at just 23 years old.

Appearances

163

Goals

36

Assists

28

Goal Involvements per Match

0.39

So far, the 25-year-old superstar has scored 36 goals and provided 28 assists in 163 appearances for the club, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.54 games, and on top of that, he has the increasingly rare ability to get fans on their feet with a piece of immaculate close control or an aesthetically dazzling pass.

Overall, while he is yet to lead the club to a title or trophy, there can be no denying that Odegaard has been an utterly sublime signing for Arsenal and easily one of the best since the Emirates was completed.

However, he’s not the only one that fits that description in the current squad.

The newest member of Arsenal's best Emirates-era signings

So, while there are more than a handful of players in the current squad who could be named here, the player we are talking about is Dutch defender Jurrien Timber, who joined the club for £38m last summer.

Now, we know that it probably is too easy to make such a sweeping statement about a player who is essentially in his first season for the club, but he’s looked that impressive, and what’s football without a little bit of hyperbole?

With that said, what makes the former Ajax defender such a special player, so special in fact that respected analyst Ben Mattinon proclaimed him “one of the best signings of the Emirates era” late last month?

Well, it’s twofold, and the first reason is simply that he’s a modern full-back who is more than capable of defending.

The Amsterdam-born titan might not be on the level as William Saliba or Gabriel Magahales in this respect, but when he’s starting on the right-hand side, it’s rare to see him skinned by an opposing player or come out on the losing side of a physical battle, despite being just 5 foot 10.

However, the most significant reason why people have been so impressed with the 23-year-old is the difference he makes going forward.

While Ben White was great at overlapping with Bukayo Saka on the right, the Dutchman seems to be comfortable doing that and underlapping, and as his former manager Michael Reiziger says, he’s “at ease and one with the ball.”

We also saw him score his first goal for the club against United, chipping in with a header in the absence of Gabriel.

Ultimately, while he’s not the flashiest of players, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore his consistently brilliant performances when he starts on the right, and perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay him is that White will have an almighty battle on his hands to displace him when fit.

Arsenal want to sign "blistering" £57m star who's like a right-footed Saka

The incredible forward would be the perfect addition to Arsenal’s attack.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Dec 10, 2024

Former South Africa speedster says the team moved on from that defeat within 24 hours, which left many players dealing with emotions in their own way

Sreshth Shah13-Nov-202313:33

Steyn: If South Africa win the semi-final, they can go on and dominate the final

The last time South Africa reached the men’s World Cup semi-final in 2015, it was yet another heartbreak in their pursuit of an elusive world title in cricket when New Zealand’s Grant Elliott knocked them out in a dramatic finish. Dale Steyn was at the centre of that defeat, and looking back eight years later, he says that the team moved on from that loss very quickly, or perhaps, even too quickly.”I think we dealt with it really well in that 24 hours, and then we went home and everyone went our own way. But getting together the next time as a South African team and walking back to the dressing room, I felt like we hadn’t spoken about what happened few months ago,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo. “And we needed to make sure that that elephant was out of that room. It was certainly still in the room for what I felt was a long time.”Describing the aftermath of that evening in Auckland where a golden generation of South Africa ODI cricketers lost their chance to reach the final, Steyn said that the first thing he did was “put a smile on his face and be a professional.”Related

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“I went into the dressing room and I sat down and I was like ‘this is where you have to be the true professional you are. You are a senior player.’ I went around to some of the younger guys, the Quinton de Kocks. Morne [Morkel] was incredibly upset, visibly upset even on TV.”But I thought to the public eye, when you’re on TV, you have to maintain that professional image. Put a smile on your face, be professional when you’ve been beaten in a big game. You’ve got to take the losses with the wins and the good with the bad. But as soon as you get in the dressing room, my role was to pick up all the players around me. And that was very heavy. We all kind of went to our rooms that night, I’m sure everyone was upset.”The next morning there was a group message, ‘guys, there’s a breakfast planned somewhere’, and we all got together. Then it was as if the night before never happened. We tried to move on as quickly as we could.”A year or two years after that had happened, did we start to address it as a team. As individuals, everyone dealt with it their own way. But as a team, we hadn’t unraveled it or spoken about it.”

'That one picture right there could mean so much to so many more people'

Dale Steyn talks about that iconic moment from the 2015 World Cup pic.twitter.com/WVJIxdLah5

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 1, 2023